Ah Little Bit

What I am telling you now is already known by you.  That is, before you start anything make sure you have all the components.  I did that!  Really, I did!  Last week I looked in the refrigerator and saw that I did have flour.

On Sunday after completing Part 2 of making coconut oil, I decided that I needed to make some bread since I wasn’t walking down that hill to find if there was a corner store open plus, I really don’t like to waste and the coconut was just sitting in the bowl, watching me and one must be grateful to the Lord for what he brings...right?  Further, I had everything I needed to make some good bread and my colleague (my supervisor actually) had been complaining for the past 3 weeks that I was not making any bread or anything for that matter.  She was wondering what I was doing with my weekends?  Creoles, eh?   

So as I begun to add other ingredients to the bowl already containing the grated and squeezed coconut to my surprise the only type of flour I had was cake flour.  Now you may know that bread needs flour that contains a sizeable amount of gluten since that is what makes the bread nice and chewy, so there was an initial moment of apprehension at using cake flour.  Then, I realized that I had only a small amount of cake flour and fear not, I was going to have bread, one way or the other.  With quick thinking I began to search the food closet to find things that could be used to make bread and what I found became the dough.  I came up with this. 

‘A Little Bit Ah’ Bread

 

A little grated coconut grounds (1 coconut from which I squeezed all the milk for making my coconut oil)

A little cornmeal (1/4 cup)

A little cake flour (1 ½ cups)

A little steel cut oats (2 handfuls, so about 1 cup)

A little whole-wheat flour (maybe 3 cups)

A little sesame seeds (just fling in whatever amount you want)

A little yeast (1 packet)

A little sugar (I would say about ¼ cup)

A little salt (shake the shaker, let’s say 9 times)

A little ginger (be gentle with opening the package and whatever amount falls in the bowl, well that is the amount for the recipe)

A few raisins, currants, and candied peel (I would guess about ½ cup each)

A little fat (lard, butter, margarine, coconut oil, anything really) (2/3 cups and maybe some more after the dough rises)

A little water (2 cups only with the amounts shown here)

Directions OR how I put the bread dough together

1. Combine all dry ingredients.  Toss dried fruit around in the flour to ensure even distribution upon baking. 
2. Melt the fat in the water (heat about 1 minute in the microwave).  Once the water is tepid, put a few drops in the crock of your elbow to test temperature and if a baby could drink it then add the fat-water mixture, to the dry ingredients a little at a time, stirring the mixture after each addition.
3. Once the water and flour mixture is combined, use your hands to knead into a ball.  Now with this mixture, it is really hard to knead (remember the gluten content is low) and make a ball, you actually have to man-handle the thing therefore you might want to put the mixture onto a lightly floured board.  In this case, “flour” may be the whole-wheat, the cornmeal, the oats, shake the last of the cake flour out of the bag, anything that will help this puppy bind.  I don’t know if this will happen to you but once I rolled the stuff into a ball, it was now too dry, so I added a bit more lard and margarine.  That did the trick, I got a ball!  
4. Place ball in a lightly oiled (of course I used coconut oil) bowl and let rest until it doubles in bulk.  After about ½ hour I realized that this load really wasn’t going to raise a lot and since I was getting tired of the process, I put the oven at 350C and greased 3 bread pans.  
5. Then I took the slightly risen dough, punched down, then divided into 3 more or less even pieces, which I always shape into loaves with my hands.  When I shaped the dough I realized that I in fact had 3 dough-boys, heavy like lead and I was anticipating the end result as doorstops.  As a matter of fact, I had already selected the doors where they would be used.  Anyhoo,  to counter-act that belief, I poked 3 holes in the top of each, pushed the raisins that were coming out of the top into the holes and added a bit of lard to each cavity.   These were the ugliest loaves I ever did see!  
6. I placed the 3 loaves of dough into the greased bread pans and put into the pre-heated oven for 30-45 minutes.
7. During the baking period, you can clean up the kitchen, read a book, watch TV, chat with a friend or like do like me, and wonder whether or not you should add some more information in your paper, on the impact of the external environment. 
8. After about 30 minutes I went to cover with a foil tent to avoid the top over-browning and the raisins being burnt, but the puppies were really pale, so I left the tent out.  At the end of the 45 minute period, they were done.  

The loaves looked much like rye bread, just a slight rise but with that wonderful hollow sound you get when you tap the bottom of a loaf to confirm doneness.    Phew, I didn't have to use as doorstops.  My ‘little bit ah’ bread tasted delicious – dense, chewy with a nutty flavour; no need for butter!

Since I never plan to write about my cooking, “I does jus’ get a vaps”   I do not know how to explain that phrase to non Trinis…sorry) and must write my thoughts, I never have pictures to show you the process.  I do have the finished product to show-off.    Yes, ah proud!  Heh, heh!

Took a slice to work today, Monday and my supervisor pronounced it 'tops' ( ah pass..tee hee) and complained that I only brought a slice and not a whole loaf. Creoles eh?  Just a lil bit ungrateful, eh? J

Heh, when you trying the recipe, you might want to try your waist with these 2 tunes from our  Trinidad and Tobago,‘Trini’ Soca artistes, Patrice Roberts and Destra!  "A little bit never hurt nobody".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBCNhRUzySY

http://www.islandmix.com/audio/Soca/2014/Destra/just-a-little-bit/15012

Hope you enjoy!

Until,